Some business software application programs provide functions that cover the specific needs of several different organizations. Such standard business software can include customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Development of standard business software can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) for individual companies. For example, a company can purchase a CRM system and activate only those features needed by the specific company. Purchasing this larger package of features and selectively activating desired functions can be cheaper than developing an application program specific to the needs of the company. Furthermore, companies using standard business software system can readily activate or deactivate features as the company changes in size and structure.
To ensure the same specificity as individually developed business software, a large amount of customizing settings are required in standard business software. Every organization using the business software may be required to set the customizing settings. Because of the significant amount of flexibility in the business software required for use by many organizations, setting customizing settings can be a very time-intensive process and can be a considerable part of the costs of implementing the business software for an organization.